The Los Angeles Lakers’ season has not gotten off to the start that anyone envisioned as Sunday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers dropped them to 2-7.
With a new head coach and new roster, many thought it would take some time for the Lakers to gel and come together.
It appears they were showing signs of doing that with back-to-back wins after starting off 0-5. Their defense has regressed the last two games though, resulting in two more losses.
One of the Lakers’ new players is Troy Brown Jr. and after the loss to the Cavaliers, he was honest in admitting the team hasn’t yet found its identity.
“Honestly I’d say no. Not right now,” Brown said. “I think we’re still learning and we’re still trying to figure that part out. I think we’re definitely making some improvements in certain areas but we just got to be better. We got to hold each other accountable.”
As a team with championship aspirations, the Lakers don’t have the luxury of waiting and hoping things get figured out. As far as what needs to change though, Brown was not happy with the Lakers’ defense in the second half against the Cavaliers.
“I would say our defensive intensity, for sure. The way we were giving up easy buckets, they were just scoring way too easily… I feel like it was an intensity thing, honestly. We need to lock in in the second half and be the same team we were in the first half. That was the biggest thing and then I felt like after that they just kind of started steamrolling and we let it get to us and at those moments of adversity, we got to pick each other up and be better and stay on top of each other to make sure that we get where we need to be.”
The Lakers signed Brown to a minimum contract in the offseason, hoping to add some wing depth off the bench. Instead though, he has been forced into a starting role early in the season after returning from a back injury.
Brown’s play has actually been solid, averaging 9.9 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 32.1% from 3-point range. The Lakers’ roster otherwise lacks 3-and-D threats though, which is why they have and likely will continue to struggle moving forward.
Davis trade viewed as Plan B for Lakers
If the Lakers don’t turn things around soon then Bill Simmons of The Ringer is reporting that they view trading Anthony Davis as a “Plan B.”
The Lakers would obviously like to avoid that as they view Davis as someone they can build around. If the losses continue to pile up though then L.A. may have no choice as the focus would then shift towards the future and salvaging whatever they can of this era.
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